The Forgotten Princess
by Noelerin
Summary: A story of Eries. R and R, please? I'm begging here.


Author: Noelerin  
  
Title: The forgotten princess.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, do you really think I'd be doing this?  
  
Rating: G.  
  
Pairing: Eries/Folken (implied).  
  
Author's Note: I have taken liberties with Princess Eries' character b/c we really don't know much about her and I don't go with the whole 'she's in love with Allen' theory, though I don't deny its possible validity. I have also brought out a few qualities from both Millerna and Marlene.  
  
***  
  
I am the forgotten princess.  
  
The plain, middle child, trapped between the two beauties that are my sisters.  
  
There is the quiet, graceful one. She of poet's fancies and knight's highest dreams. They long to shelter and protect her. The Princess Marlene.  
  
Then there is the vibrant, gifted one. The soul of an adventuress, the hands of a healer. She longs for home and security where none exists. This chaser of shadows. The Princess Millerna.  
  
And then there's me, Eries. I do not envy my sisters, for all their beauty and desirability. Quite the opposite. I pity them for I am something they can never be.  
  
Free.  
  
Princess Eries closed the book with a deep sigh, that entry was ten years old. Since it had been written, much had happened. Her eyes stared out over the wall sightlessly, remembering all that had gone before and since its creation.  
  
Marlene had married, given birth, and died.  
  
Mother had passed on.  
  
Strife began to hound Gaia.  
  
And her father had placed her in the center of it all. Denied through death the love of her fiancée, she withdrew herself from the line of succession. Still, she served king and country. She wished it could be otherwise.  
  
Her feet yearned to roam free again, while her heart longed for the home that it once had had. A wanderer, her mother had teasingly called her.  
  
And Eries knew she was.  
  
Footsteps coming towards her pulled her from her increasingly melancholy thoughts. Allen Schezar bowed before her and she bade him rise, to join her. "What is it, Allen?" Her voice was soft with concern when he remained standing.  
  
She was further startled when one of his hands grasped hers, squeezing it. "Van has returned."  
  
"I take it that all is well with them," she asked, alarm in her eyes.  
  
"They are fine, Eries. I wanted to warn you," he paused, breathing deeply for a moment. "They've brought someone with them, an officer in the Zaibach army. You've seen him before."  
  
A trembling hand rose to her throat, her head shaking in denial.  
  
"It's Folken," Allen whispered firmly. "Just like you suspected when you first met him."  
  
Her head shook wildly but she couldn't lie to herself, not when his eyes spoke the truth. Slipping off the bench, she buried her head in her arms and sobbed. Allen dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms, rocking her and stroking her head. Feeling as she did, he realized that anything he said would ring falsely in her ears.  
  
As suddenly as it started, the storm stopped. Eries rose to her feet and straightened her shoulders. The cold mask that was quickly becoming her true face, slid into place effortlessly. "Would you escort me into the palace?"  
  
He winced, seeing it, but stood and bowed to her, extending his arm. With the ease of deep kinship, they made their way inside. Together, they waited in the entryway. "Hitomi, Van. I am pleased to see that you have suffered no ill will from your journey. But you must be weary. Please, rest and refresh yourselves."  
  
"Thank you, Princess Eries," the girl spoke softly. Her green eyes were on the floor, refusing to look at anyone.  
  
"Princess Eries, I will rest once I have introduced our companion. This is Folken, an ex-Zaibach officer." His voice was as cold as the expression on his face.  
  
Her expression did not alter even as she faced him. "Yes, we met once. I am sorry that my father is not here to greet you, Lord Folken, but he has been ill and is still abed."  
  
A momentary flash of sorrow darkened his eyes, then was gone. "That is quite all right, my lady. My coming was unexpected. I am sorry to hear that the king is unwell."  
  
"Thank you. Sir Allen will show you to your rooms and we shall see you at dinner." Turning to Allen, she spoke to him quietly.  
  
Obeying her, he bowed to Folken and led him away. The knight knew what it had cost her to be so formal and cursed the man beside him.  
  
***  
  
Folken sat on his bed and thought about Eries. She had never been far from his mind. Though she wasn't conventionally beautiful, there was an eternal beauty to her that did not fade. It had merely increased over the years. She was his first love.  
  
His only love, if truth were told. He ached to hold her again, to enjoy the serenity of her embrace.  
  
But it was impossible. He was more machine than man now. No longer was he worthy of her respect, her admiration.  
  
The dragon had weakened his flesh.  
  
Zaibach attacked his will.  
  
Eries was killing what was left of his soul.  
  
He looked up, the face in the mirror stared back at him. The face of a stranger, yet a persona he'd willingly adopted. Closing his eyes, he tried to shut out what he'd seen. But the cold metal of his arm mocked his efforts to ignore what he was.  
  
Ugly and unworthy. I destroy that which I love most.  
  
Cursed creature that I am, I was foolish enough to hope that she'd save me from what I've become.  
  
It is my destiny to walk alone in this world of light and laughter.  
  
He forced himself to look at his image, to hold up his arm.  
  
Despair filled him, "what have I allowed myself to become?"  
  
Van, keep turning from me. I will only butcher your heart.  
  
Eries, stay locked away from my presence. You, my hope, must remain untainted by this monster's hand.  
  
The End.  
  
Please, review and tell me if this stinks. 


End file.
